Dear Military Spouse, You Are Better Than You Think

2017 is a fresh start, the opportunity for a new beginning. Chances are you have set some New Year’s Resolutions for yourself. Maybe you’ve decided to eat healthier, to be a better spouse, a better parent, to travel or pay off debt. Perhaps you have been working diligently to maintain them, or maybe they have fallen to the wayside.

If they have fallen to the wayside, I’m here to tell you that is 100% ok.

And here’s why.

I think that when it comes to New Year’s resolutions, we are missing the point. Having social media and the internet at our fingertips, fast food at every corner, we have negatively changed our mindset as a society. We live in an instant gratification world. We want what we want, and we want it now.

This way of thinking has lead us to set inappropriate and unrealistic expectations, lose patience with ourselves, then get down when we inadvertently fail.

But here’s some food for thought.

What if failure doesn’t have to mean what we think it means? What would happen if we transformed our preconceived notions of the word “failure” to lesson, or stepping stone? Most likely, you may find that you did not fail at all, in fact, you learned something valuable which could lead you closer to success. Nobody achieves any type of success overnight. Life is like a marathon, not a race, and everyone runs it at their own pace.

So basically, it is time to stop comparing your worst to everyone else’s best!

2016 was surely filled with some ups and downs. As a country, as families, as individuals. It’s important to reflect and focus on those learning opportunities that came our way. Those experiences are there to help us grow, and have the potential to turn us into the best version of ourselves. Every day is filled with choices. We either win or we learn a lesson, but unless we give up or quit, we a can never truly fail.

So, I’d love to challenge and encourage you as we step into 2017.

Learn to value the suck.

Don’t just accept, but embrace the hardships, those failures, and make them work FOR you rather than against you.

You are more powerful than you know, and have control over more than you think in this life.

You hold the key to creating your own joy, happiness, and opportunities. Decide now to use those experiences as moments to positively influence your life. Choose joy, love, hope, and truly be determined to believe in yourself. Look forward to the new possibilities that this year will bring. It is time that we stop giving in to the negative mindset. Rise above and remember to never give up on yourself, no matter what challenges or failures we face this year.